


Angel Face

by gloom



Category: Free!
Genre: AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-24
Updated: 2014-10-11
Packaged: 2018-02-18 15:10:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2352845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gloom/pseuds/gloom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Still in a considerable amount of pain, he turns his head to face the inside of Rin’s couch and opens his eyes in an attempt to wake himself up for the second time that day. Blue? No, that definitely wasn’t right. Thinking about it, Rin’s couch was some shade of red (“Cardinal, Sousuke, it’s Cardinal!”) and as much as his childhood friend was the sort of person to go out and do things on a whim when he felt like it, he was sure one of those things wasn’t switching out his furniture randomly within hours of the others having left his home.</p><p>Or, that "I came to the wrong house drunk AU" that every pairing needs.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. strange pillow

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all! I'm super new to writing fanfic because a friend suggested I try it. I've found that it's good practice for me, so please don't hesitate to point out any errors that I may have overlooked and enjoy!

The first thing Sousuke sees is light—way too much light.

He groans loudly into the pillow nestled beneath his violently aching head before he realises that something seems slightly off. Lifting his head up slightly, he squints down at the pillow, noting the orange colour and what appears to be a horrendously drawn killer whale taking up the centre and a little of the upper corner. He knew Rin was all over quirky as fuck interior decor (unsurprising), but when the hell did he get _that_? God, it even _smelled_ different. Was it new? Were awfully done animal prints the new thing going around? 

Sousuke dismisses these thoughts entirely after a few seconds, opting to close his eyes once more and sigh into the strange pillow. He’d stumbled in at about three in the morning, stripping off his shirt and flopping down unceremoniously on the soft cushions after going for drinks with Momo and Ai; being too drunk to make it all the way back to his own apartment. Rin had been invited too, but declined so he could spend time with that weirdo boyfriend of his. He was thankful for Rin’s existence though because the guy kept a spare key hidden just outside his door for this very reason. 

Still in a considerable amount of pain, he turns his head to face the inside of Rin’s couch and opens his eyes in an attempt to wake himself up for the second time that day. _Blue?_ No, that definitely wasn’t right. Thinking about it, Rin’s couch was some shade of red (“ _Cardinal, Sousuke, it’s Cardinal!”)_ and as much as his childhood friend was the sort of person to go out and do things on a whim when he felt like it, he was sure one of those things wasn’t switching out his furniture randomly within hours of the others having left his home.

In an instant, he sits up, scanning his surroundings even with the headache he’s probably making worse. Ah, just as he thought. This was definitely not Rin’s place. Sousuke notes that he’s oddly calm despite this realisation but quickly resigns that to the fact that there appears to be no one home. Maybe this way, he can make a quick escape and _not_ be arrested for—

“Ah, you’re awake! Here, drink this.” He looks up towards a doorway, which he assumes could only lead to the kitchen, to see the most wonderful sight his hungover self could ask for. The light shining through the window behind him seems appropriate as his mind supplies him with _angel_ , rays of sun hitting the man before him perfectly so Sousuke can see the way his slightly amused smile seems to sparkle, of all things. He’s staring, he knows, but it’s hard to ignore the warm presence this guy seems to hold so well, despite his largeness in both height and build. 

Sousuke’s startled out of his thoughts for a moment as Angel Face walks over to the couch himself and crouches down so they’re level, the small quirk of his lips coaxing him to take the glass of water from his hand. He does so, confused and maybe a little turned on at the given moment. This close, he notices the green of Sweet Angel’s eyes and _shit,_ is he dreaming? Fumbling a little with the glass, he puts it to his mouth and gulps down its entire contents in record time, his mouth suddenly having gone dry. It’s after this that he realises that he’s sitting topless on some stranger’s couch and eyes his shirt on the floor by his feet. 

“S-sorry, I must’ve thought this was my friend’s house last night. Guess you keep your spare key hidden in the same place.” He says, not letting the floor out of his sight as his face heats up in what he knows isn’t _only_ embarrassment. 

Sousuke has never been self conscious of his body before. He had been a serious swimmer up until high school which allowed his body to develop quite nicely, plus having a best friend on the national team ensured that he’d be dragged along to gym dates and really fucking long runs to keep in shape. No, Sousuke found no reason to be self-conscious of his bare body, but he found himself awkwardly crossing his arms to cover himself in what appeared to be some sort of one-person hug. 

Green Eyes apparently notices this and laughs, the sweet sound making Sousuke’s stomach flutter (but that could also be his hunger, okay). He reaches down for Sousuke’s shirt and stands before speaking again, “Rin hasn’t come home from Haru’s, so I’ll wash this for you, okay? You can borrow one of mine.” So this guy was a neighbour then. A super hot neighbour that Rin is obviously well acquainted with and _why the fuck isn’t Sousuke?_  

Before he can stop himself, the darker haired of the two reaches out to softly tug on the hem of Angel Face’s shirt and looks up. “I don’t know your name.” This time, it’s the other’s turn to blush and _holy fucking shit,_ Sousuke wants to make out with this guy so bad right now.

“O-oh, Tachibana Makoto! Yes, I’m—I just figured you knew since I’ve noticed you visit Rin a whole lot and he talks about you sometimes.” Makoto scratches his cheek nervously, obviously embarrassed now that he’s realised how weird it’s been for him to be so accommodating to what Sousuke _thought_ he viewed as a complete stranger. He continues, shyly (Sou is going to cry because what a fucking _angel_ ), “You’re Yamazaki Sousuke, right? Um, I’ll be right back!” It’s not hard to notice as his grip tightens on the shirt in his hand and the way he speedily walks out of the living room, cheeks the loveliest shade of pink. 

Sousuke is left alone on Green Eyed Angel’s couch once more and although his head is still kind of pounding  (okay, _a lot_ pounding), he finds that he couldn’t care less. He places the glass down on the coffee table in front of him and leans back, waiting for Tachibana to get back with a clean shirt. The expression on his face is best described as a pleased smile. 


	2. even the strays

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Silence fills the room once more and Sousuke finds himself dragging his hands down his face until they’re placed right under his nose, pressed firmly together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing too interesting happens in this chapter if I'm being honest, but we do get a little from Makoto's point of view regarding Sousuke's surprise visit! Also, I know I was kind of slow with updating this but I'm going to be extremely busy this and next month so I don't have much time to write (also the reason why this chapter isn't as long or written as well as I'd prefer). I'm really glad that people seemed to like the first chapter though! (｡･ω･｡)

“You did _what_?”

Sousuke can see it in Rin’s expression (that glint in his eye coupled with that stupid smirk) and says firmly, “Rin, don’t you dare fucking laugh.”

He laughs anyway, that asshole.

Fortunately (he likes to think) for him, Rin had arrived not long after Makoto had given him a clean shirt. With an awkward wave and a quick thanks, Sousuke was out of there and bolting through Rin’s open door before the latter could even enter his own home.

Sousuke frowns and crosses his arms. He’s seated on Rin’s very red, very familiar couch while owner of said couch seems to be attempting a strange breathing exercise given how much he’s laughing. He sighs, kind of fondly if he’s being honest, and runs a hand through his hair.

“So, how long have you known this Tachibana guy?” Sousuke tries to ask as nonchalantly as he can muster, but Rin knows him too well. Of course, the laughter halts immediately after and that’s when Sou knows he’s been caught. _Dammit._

Rin taps his pointer finger lightly on his chin repeatedly, staring up dramatically at the ceiling as if deep in thought. Several more seconds of silence pass before he asks a simple and very irritating, “why?”

The seated of the two finds this irritating for two reasons; firstly, he can tell by the tone of Rin’s voice and the slight quirk to his brow that he knows _exactly_ why Sousuke’s suddenly interested in his hot piece of ass neighbour and secondly, Rin is not yet divulging him in what he knows of said neighbour. In his annoyance, Sousuke says nothing and sits back with a huff.

With a lightly uttered “tch”, Rin moves to sit on the other end of the couch and places his feet comfortably in Sousuke’s lap. He nudges his foot against the taller man’s stomach and smiles knowingly.

“So, you’ve succumbed to Makoto’s charms like everybody else. 

“I didn’t say tha—“

“He likes cats.”

“Wha—“

“He gives them eskimo kisses, Sou. Even the strays.”

“Right, so—“

“He’s studying to be a swim coach.”

“He swi—“

“Because it’s his dream to help children be happy and feel good about themselves.”

Silence fills the room once more and Sousuke finds himself dragging his hands down his face until they’re placed right under his nose, pressed firmly together. The only valid explanation for Tachibana’s very existence at this point is that he’s dreaming (he hopes he isn’t though, because holy shit what a _sweetheart_ ).

At this point, Rin looks like he’s going to laugh again so Sousuke pinches his foot hard enough to make him kick his foot to the side. He also yells “Ow, what the fuck, Sousuke?!” so loud that Sou’s suddenly conscious of Makoto hearing from his apartment across Rin’s  and _wow_ , he thinks, _he is so far gone already_ _._

As answer to the scowling child still draping his legs over his lap, Sousuke just shrugs and says, “You were being annoying.”

Rin attacks.

— 

Makoto watches Sousuke make a speedy exit and closes the door, sighing wistfully with a touch of relief.

Imagine his surprise that morning when he had entered his sitting room to the view of Rin’s _extremely_ good-looking and incredibly built best friend lying on his couch. _Topless._ If Makoto had already thought he was attractive just from seeing him briefly in the hallway whenever he visited Rin, then seeing Sousuke like _that_ was enough to intensify those feelings tenfold.

The thought alone was enough to bring a flush of pink to Mako’s entire face and if one were to ask, he would vehemently deny that he had spent about ten minutes staring at the sleeping figure clutching the pillow Nagisa had given to him as a present for his last birthday.

Generally, Makoto was naturally good at making new friends (Rin always teased him about being a sort of “Prince Charming”) but they’d been neighbours for almost three years now and he had never been able to bring himself to speak to Sousuke. Usually, passing him in the hallway would prompt Makoto to turn away in some strange attempt to hide when really, why did he find the need to do that?

It wasn’t something Makoto was used to—he found people attractive, of course, but it had never made him nervous before.

He had waited until Sousuke and Rin were completely out of sight before he moved from his own door, humming to himself. It was already a few minutes before noon when his uninvited (yet definitely not unwanted) guest had woken up and Makoto found that his nerves made him forget to offer him anything other than a glass of water and to wash his shirt—no, that was _not_ an excuse made on impulse just so a long appreciated hot stranger would wear Mako’s shirt (except maybe he was a little ashamed because it totally was).

It did fit nicely though, just a little more snug than Sousuke’s own.

— 

When Sousuke finally leaves Rin’s apartment, it’s a few minutes past five in the evening. He’d taken a long shower after the latter had won their impromptu wrestling match (he was distracted, okay) then proceeded to do absolutely nothing while Rin put on a few movies they only partially watched. All in all, it was pretty much standard procedure for those two on a Sunday afternoon in which they both had nothing to do. 

He waves to Rin on his way out, now wearing one of his own shirts that he keeps in the apartment for circumstances like this and the same jeans he’s been using since his previous night out. The shirt he borrowed from Rin’s hot neighbour is folded neatly in his opposite hand as he shuts the door behind him and he takes a deep breath, intent on knocking on said neighbour’s door to return it.

 _Crap,_ he thinks suddenly, _should I have washed it?_ Earlier, he had decided against it as he’d only been wearing it for barely over an hour, but on second thought, Sousuke realises that despite its short usage time, nobody actually _wants_ borrowed clothing back unwashed.

Before he can even come to make his choice however, he hears the door across Rin’s apartment opening suddenly and Makoto is standing before him, smile bright and warm despite the time of day. His eyes dart to Sousuke’s hand and he tilts his head to the side slightly in question.

“Ah, is that my shirt?” Sousuke blinks dumbly at him for a moment and only falls out of his angel induced trance when Makoto begins to scratch his cheek and avert his eyes uneasily due to the lack of response.

He half yells, “No! I mean—yes, this is your shirt.” _Get a grip, Sou, come on._ “It’s not washed yet though, sorry.” He thrusts out the shirt more violently than intended and feels it slip from his hands when Makoto meets him halfway to take it back then step back into his apartment quickly to, what Sousuke assumes, put it away.

He doesn’t know why, but he waits for Makoto to come back instead of starting his walk back to his place.

“About letting me crash on your couch,” he starts, “Can I buy you dinner to thank you? And to make up for the unwashed shirt too.”

Sousuke’s heart stops when he realises what he’s just said because _why did I do that, why would this angel want to get dinner with some stranger who showed up at their apa—_

“Well, I was going to get some now,” is the reply, “You could come with me?” The taller of the two can’t help but smile back automatically ( _huh,_ Sousuke thinks, _weird_ ) and nods once.

It’s silent between the two on their way out of the complex because Sousuke finds that he can’t get his mouth to work around this guy. So when a small visitor interrupts them as they reach the bottom of the stairs, he is absolutely grateful for it—things were, to say the least, getting awkward.

They both pause as it curls itself around one of Makoto’s legs.

“Hello!” Makoto says and without much thought, picks it up and scratches just below its chin gently with his pointer finger before leaning down to touch his nose against the cat’s affectionately. He then looks at Sousuke and takes a few steps closer to introduce the two. “This is Sousuke, say hi to him for me?”

The cat mewls in response and Sousuke knows that he's completely done for _._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, idk?????? To be honest, I'm not really happy with this chapter so I might go back and edit the heck out of it when I'm not so swamped with work I need to finish. 
> 
> Also, I have tumblr!!!!!!!   
> alexipharmic.tumblr.com yo


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